Shed developer Prologis is to extend its property portfolio in Japan with the purchase of eight distribution centres.

The eight centres total 1.7m sq ft (159,000 sq m) and have been purchased by a partnership between Prologis Japan Properties Fund II and third party logistics company Hitachi Transport from cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido for $136m (£69m).

The agreement between the companies was signed and announced today. The distribution centres are in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and other locations across Japan.

Masato Miki, co-president of Japan operations for Prologis said: ‘This transaction exemplifies key dynamics in the Japanese distribution market.

‘For some time, manufacturers throughout the country have been disposing of real estate in an effort to strengthen their balance sheets. More recently, companies have begun to embrace outsourcing of supply-chain management as a way to improve focus on core business operations.’